Chapter 576: The Anniversary Day Arrives
Time slipped by, and in the blink of an eye, the day of Finance University’s fiftieth anniversary celebration had arrived.
On this day, the university’s main entrance was decked out in festive red, with vehicles and pedestrians flowing in an endless stream.
The anniversary ceremony was scheduled to officially begin at ten in the morning. Liu Yutong arrived at the school around eight-fifty.
She had just gotten out of her car when she saw Lin Lele quickly approaching to greet her. Lin Lele wore a bright red sash draped diagonally across her body—clearly one of the student leaders selected to receive important alumni and distinguished guests.
“Class president, you’re here! According to the arrangements, I’m to escort you to the Jinghua Pavilion VIP Lounge, where the school leadership and several early-arriving prominent alumni are gathered.”
Liu Yutong smiled and said, “It’s not like I’m unfamiliar with Finance University. Are you worried I’ll get lost?”
Lin Lele replied, “Oh, this is protocol. Whether you’re familiar with the place or not, I have to guide you. Besides, our class president has now become a distinguished guest of Jinghua Pavilion and our school’s student representative. It brings me honor to be your guide.”
Liu Yutong: “What kind of distinguished guest am I? I haven’t even graduated from university yet.”
Lin Lele linked arms with her affectionately: “Oh, come on, let’s go.”
Before long, the two arrived in front of Jinghua Pavilion.
Gazing at those three familiar characters on the lintel, Liu Yutong felt quite moved. A year ago, she had been a student leader responsible for receiving distinguished guests here; now she had become a distinguished guest herself.
As Liu Yutong entered Jinghua Pavilion, she saw quite a few men and women dressed in suits with extraordinary bearing.
Most of these people were outstanding alumni who had graduated from Finance University. They now wielded considerable influence in various fields such as government, finance, and industry.
The moment Liu Yutong appeared, someone proactively greeted her.
“Chairman Liu, I didn’t expect it would really be you!” came a somewhat surprised voice.
Liu Yutong followed the voice and saw a slightly chubby middle-aged man walking toward her with a smile—it was President Zhang from Suning, whom she had met once last year.
“President Zhang, long time no see.” Liu Yutong smiled faintly and gracefully extended her hand to shake his.
President Zhang had called out “Chairman Liu” rather loudly, immediately catching the attention of several friends chatting nearby.
Those few individuals were all successful alumni or finance and business figures specially invited by the university.
At this moment, their faces still carried the innate pride of successful people as they curiously examined the excessively young and beautiful girl before President Zhang.
President Zhang clearly wanted to show off his connections to them and enthusiastically introduced to his group of friends: “Come, come, let me introduce you all. This is Finance University’s current sensation, Liu Yutong, Chairman Liu! She’s a junior to some of you!”
“Liu Yutong?” Several of them felt the name sounded somewhat familiar.
“Aren’t you the chairman of Wanlong Society Group?”
With this reminder, the others also recalled.
“That’s right, Wanlong Society Group! I remember now—Pearl City’s largest supermarket chain and that popular group-buying site Wanhui Preferred are both under Wanlong Society Group, right?”
“Holy shit, impressive! I saw the news—Wanhui Preferred’s Series B valuation reached 2.2 billion. If it goes public in the future, that’s going to be something else!”
“Exactly! Exactly!”
“………”
Seeing everyone’s reaction, President Zhang was quite pleased, as if he had been the one to discover Liu Yutong: “That’s right, she’s Chairman Liu of Wanlong Society Group! You don’t know this, but when I met Chairman Liu last year, she was just a freshman. I tried to recruit her to my company back then, but she declined. Who would’ve thought that after just one year, she has become the chairman of Wanlong Society Group? It’s truly astounding.”
After hearing his words, the few presidents who had been looking at her with appraising eyes and didn’t know Liu Yutong instantly changed. Their arrogance vanished without a trace, replaced by shock and eagerness.
“What? President Zhang, do you mean this Chairman Liu started her business when she was a freshman?”
“The junior is also a student representative of Finance University. If I remember correctly, isn’t the junior only a sophomore?”
“Doesn’t that mean she built a large group with assets worth billions in just one year?”
“A sophomore who’s a chairman worth billions!”
“Gasp~~~~”
Everyone couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment. This seemed to break their understanding.
A sophomore, not yet twenty, had already reached heights many could never attain in their entire lives—becoming the chairman of a group corporation.
What kind of genius was this!
Everyone present, whether investors or entrepreneurs, had achieved success only after years of struggle. And the vast majority had slowly made their way after graduating from university.
But this girl before them had started her business as a freshman and, in just one year, become a billionaire with a company valued in the billions. It was truly terrifying!
What they didn’t know was that they had vastly underestimated this girl before them. In reality, the wealth she controlled had long surpassed ten billion. If they knew, they’d probably jump in shock and exclaim how monstrous!
In an instant, several people surrounded Liu Yutong, all warmly introducing themselves.
“Junior Liu, truly heroes emerge from the young… no, from young women! Haha! I’m Li Da from Tianyu Investment. We should get to know each other better in the future.”
“Chairman Liu, I’m Liu Ziyu from Ruihua Securities. If you need any securities account services in the future, don’t hesitate to contact me.”
“Junior Liu, do you remember me? I’m your senior brother Wang Meng. We met last year, also here. I’m in import-export trade. If there are any good projects in the future, you must think of your senior brother.”
“Junior Liu…”
“Junior…”
“Chairman Liu…”
“………”
For a moment, the addresses of “Junior” and “Chairman Liu” continuously rang in Liu Yutong’s ears.
These individuals who usually commanded great influence in their respective fields now set aside their airs, using their alumni status to connect with Liu Yutong.
After all, before absolute strength, seniority and age didn’t matter. Moreover, this junior before them was so young—her future achievements would surely be limitless. If not now, when would be the time to connect?
Liu Yutong maintained a smile on her face, chatting with them calmly and exchanging business cards.
After the small talk concluded, President Zhang specially spoke with Liu Yutong alone for a few words.
“Chairman Liu, could Wanlong Plaza reserve a spot for me? I think that location of yours is excellent. Suning is preparing to open a flagship store there.”
“That’s naturally no problem. Suning is willing to set up shop—I couldn’t be more welcoming.”
“Haha, then it’s settled.”
“……….”
Liu Yutong then noticed that President Huang, whom she had seen last year, didn’t seem to be present this year and casually asked, “President Zhang, didn’t President Huang come this year?”
She was thinking, could it be that that guy was already behind bars?
President Zhang shook his head: “I’m not clear on that. As you can probably tell, he and I have never seen eye to eye.”
Liu Yutong nodded, then half-jokingly asked another question: “President Zhang, with Suning developing so well, when do you plan to surpass Guomei and claim the top spot in domestic home appliance retail?”
This question touched on his favorite subject—this had always been his goal. Of course, he had to be modest verbally.
“Chairman Liu, to be honest, everyone at Suning is…”
Before President Zhang could finish, a rather domineering voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
“President Zhang wants to claim the top spot—did you ask me?!”
The two turned around to find the richest man, Huang Yu, had arrived, and his style was as domineering as ever.
“President Zhang, I advise you to consider selling Suning to me. With me around, Suning can only ever be number two!”